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Palm Beach Money

Category: Money Schemes

If it were up to me, Veterans Day would be a national holiday that required the stock market to be closed all day. The bond market is closed. But wouldn’t it be nice if for one day the stock market closed to honor the millions of men and women who have fought and died for our nation. And, by the way, because they did, and still do, have given us a great nation in which to live.

Unfortunately, in this day and age it’s money that’s the driving force behind pretty much everything. Money that I’m guessing would not be [More]

That old Great Depression song, “Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?”, seems to be coming around again.

Along with the good news of a positive jobs report for the month of October came news that hourly wages had increased too. At first hearing, that sounds like news worthy of a big, “Whoppee!” But look closer at the hourly wage increase and it’s almost laughable— 3 cents.

An hourly wage increase of three cents is only three pennies away from no increase. Then again, add that amount up for an eight-hour workday and you’ll have earned 24 cents. That’s [More]

Remember when gold nugget jewelry was all the rage? People were adorning themselves with all sorts of chunky rings, earrings and bobbles. That, however, was a number of yesteryears ago. Today chunks of gold aren’t hot –even when still in the ground—as the price of this precious metal has fallen to lows not seen in four years.

I read this comment from a reader following one of the Bloomberg.com pieces on gold written earlier this week: “Mark Twain described a mine as “a hole in the ground owned by a liar.”

Well, so much for investor concerns over a scary October. As the month came to a close, all major indices were up for the month. Better yet, prices at the pump were the lowest seen in years! If it weren’t for the over-hyped Ebola scare, the month would have wound up more joy filled than worrisome.

Let’s begin with the market.

For the record, stock indices did not have a grim month. The DJIA closed on Friday, Oct. 31 at a record high of 17,390.52 and gained 1.1 percent for the month. The S&P500 also hit a new high closing at [More]

An old-time stockbroker once told me that if you liked a stock after it had reached a new high, then you’ve got to love it after its price falls. There is a lot of truth to that provided you’ve done your due diligence and researched the companies you have an interest in before investing.
Heck, word is Warren Buffett, Mr. Research, lost $2 billion in a couple of days and he’s holding on to the two biggest reasons for the drop. What about you?

Depending upon your age and your investment goals, you either are a long-term stock market investor [More]

Ebola. The deadly virus everyone is talking about carries the same name as the river in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the outbreak of the virus was first identified in the 1970s. Originally known as Zaire River, the river’s name was changed after the virus had spread to dozens of villages situated along the river’s banks. Just as Ebola’s beginnings were remote, so are the odds of a quick remedy to control, cure, quell or eliminate the virus.

One seemingly inhuman reality about finding an Ebola fix centers around two things–interest and money. Even though more than 8,000 have already [More]

At a small dinner party Friday night, it didn’t take long for the conversation to turn from the opening of Nordstrom’s Rack at the Palm Beach Outlets to stocks. While talk was about the horrible performance of equities this past week, I told everyone to quit worrying. After all, it’s about time that equity prices correct. A 10 percent drop wouldn’t be horrible. And for anyone worried about money, I suggested looking in their closets.

Let’s begin with market performance.

Ok, we all know that it’s the job of those in the media to keep us all whipped-up about what’s going [More]

It’s no secret that Sam Walton and his family have amassed billions by being cheap. You know, selling everything from bananas to sports equipment cheaper than anybody else. And in the process of doing so Wal-Mart stores also changed the landscape of small town America by introducing its customers to big parking-lot shopping experiences while at the same time putting lots of mom-and-pop businesses out of business. But, hey, cheap pricing works. Particularly when wages of the bulk of ordinary working American’s have remained stagnant for many many years.

But this blog isn’t about cheap pricing, rather the cheapness— the [More]

In addition to the ghouls, ghosts and goblins that Halloween brings with it, the stock markets performance during this month has— every now and then– been just as frightening. But not to worry: So what if October is best known for its market crashes. This 10th month of the year also marks the beginning of the fourth quarter—a quarter that history has shown can be very rewarding.

Before going there, there is no dismissing the market’s performances on Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929; Black Monday, October 19, 1987 when the DJIA fell more than 20 percent; or, how the Dow dropped [More]